Will lessons be learned?

Findings
from the independent inquiry into one of the leading tennis centres
has revealed the sport’s governing body, the Lawn Tennis
Association (LTA), failed in their response to repeated warnings
about bullying and sexual abuse.

The
inquiry was commissioned by the LTA following the conviction of
former Wrexham Tennis Centre head coach Daniel Saunders, jailed
following his admission to eight counts of sexual activity with a
player under 16-years. The
inquiry report criticised both the LTA and Wrexham Tennis Centre,
finding they had acted “inadequately”
before Sunders was arrested and that they had failed to recognise
safeguarding concerns.

In clear
breech of safeguarding policy and practice, it is unthinkable that
the extreme culture of ‘laddish behaviour’ Saunders created
within the club, was not deemed a safeguarding risk, even after an
internal investigation into his behaviour in 2012. It seems very odd
that following the internal investigation, which found there were no
child protection risks, clear glass was then installed to the window
of Saunders’ office- presumably as a safeguarding measure? Sadly,
Saunders simply covered the window in posters, using the office to
later abuse his victim.

As a
practitioner I find it unbelievable that the behaviours descried and
reported by parents, which included coaches using sexually explicit
language when on court with children, showing pornography to boys
under the age of 12 and bullying of girls about their physical
appearance (a parent reported that her daughter was called a “hefty
elephant” and told that she (the girl) would “never get a
boyfriend because of the way she looked”) were not taken seriously
or addressed as abuse.

LTA
chief executive, Scott Lloyd states lessons have been learned and
that the LTA is “concerned that opportunities to act were
missed” apologising to all those affected regarding this case. But
one still has to seriously question the LTA’s action following the
inquiry’s findings. Yes, a critical review of policy and strategy
is essential, it always is following a serious incident, but what
this case highlights is a failure to embed best safeguarding practice
and have ongoing evaluation of that practice at its core. The actions
of Saunders were abhorrent but so too was the culture he developed
within Wrexham Tennis centre participated in by others.